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Students holding either a research Master’s degree or an equivalent degree can be admitted to study for a PhD subject to their application being approved by the Admissions Committee. Supervision of Ph.D. students draws on the network of research teams associated to the EPHE Doctoral School (ED 472).

Ph.D. students are also provided with additional support in the form of a ‘Dissertation Monitoring Committee’, or CST (Comité de suivi de thèse), independently of the chosen field of study. The CST is a compulsory mechanism and each CST must meet once every year.

In keeping with the Bologna Process PhD students are given the option of enrolling on a voluntary basis in an individual Doctoral Programme leading to the award of ECTS credits for specific doctoral activities.

These requirements are in line with the Doctoral School’s mission of training PhD candidates and preparing them for professional life.

Initial enrolment

Please follow the application procedure:

Stage 1: Contacting an EPHE research professor

At any time of the year you can contact a research professor (un enseignant-chercheur) whose field corresponds to the subject of your research project. You will be asked to give a brief description of your educational and academic background, reasons for applying and research project. The research professor will tell you if the degree that you have chosen is actually the right one for you.

Stage 2: Application

IMPORTANT : Please download the application form (‘dossier de candidature’) in PDF format, print it and post it to: École Pratique des Hautes Études, Bureau des Doctorats, 4-14 rue Ferrus, 75014 PARIS, with the following attachments:
• Acceptance letter or email from your PhD supervisor
• CV
• Research project (approximately 5 pages including a short bibliography)
• Photocopy of your Master degree (or equivalent)
• Transcript of your Master degree (or equivalent)
• For SIEB PhDs, proof of funding
• If you do not hold a Master degree awarded by a French university, please fill in and send the ‘dossier de validation des acquis’ (VA) opposite.

Stage 3: Administrative registration

Once the Admission Committee has accepted your application, you will need to complete your administrative registration.

Re-enrolment

Administrative enrolment (réinscription) for each year of your PhD is compulsory. Please download your CVEC certificate of payment (or exemption) here : site de la contribution vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC). You will need your CVEC certificate number to re-enroll online.

• Enrolment Year 2: from mid-July you can connect to ADUM here: application ADUM to update your personal and academic data. Once your application has been validated by your PhD administrator you will be able to access the online payment module.

• Enrolment Years 3 to 6: enrolment is subject to the submission of the report of your Dissertation Monitoring Committee (CST, fiche du comité de suivi de thèse). This must be sent to your PhD administrator before 1 October. A negative opinion by the Dissertation Monitoring Committee regarding re-enrolment will be reviewed by the Head of the PhD specialization concerned and the Director of the Doctoral School. From mid-July PhD students must connect to ADUM (application ADUM) and update their personal and academic data. Once you have received your CST and your dossier has been validated you will be able to access the online payment module.

PhD students applying for a one-year interruption of their doctoral studies (demande de césure) must obtain a document from their Dissertation Monitoring Committee (CST) and submit it with their application. If approved they have to pay the CVEC and reduced registration fees of 253€ as a contribution to administrative costs. They must also complete the re-enrolment process on ADUM (application ADUM).

The Decree of 25 May 2016 concerning doctoral studies provides that a PhD must be completed in a maximum of six years.